What Will Marvel’s 2020 Movie Slate Be?
It’s a strange time to be a Marvel fan now. Fans are still dealing with the huge consequences of Infinity War and aside from Captain Marvel’s origin film and Avengers 4, we know very little about what comes next.
Granted, Spider-Man: Far From Home releases in July 2019 (I’m convinced if Marvel didn’t have to share Spidey with Sony, then we wouldn’t even know that yet), but that will be Marvel’s third and most likely final film of the year and we’ve had no official word about what we can expect afterwards.
So who can we expect to see on the big screen in 2020?
The Original Avengers
It’s probably best to get this one out of the way early. Aside from Black Widow (I’ll come back to her later), we won’t be getting any solo films with any of our original heroes. Captain America, Iron Man and Thor all have their trilogies completed and all three actors’ contracts expire after Avengers 4.
That’s not to say they couldn’t come back for more. Robert Downey Jr. has been returning on a film-by-film basis ever since Iron Man 3, and Marvel are reluctant to sign him to multi-picture deal on the account of his fee being astronomical.
Everyone knows Chris Evans is eager to get into directing, though officially he says he’s happy to come back if Marvel need him.
Chris Hemsworth has said he’s happy to return to Thor if the script is exciting, but at the moment we’ve heard nothing about plans for a Thor 4. Fans were buzzing when the Russo brothers refused to confirm whether or not Jane Foster had been killed by ‘the snap’, which suggests that Marvel are still deciding whether or not to bring Thor back for another film.
Kevin Feige is likely a bit frustrated that by the time they figured out how to make a great Thor film, they had come to the end of his trilogy, and there’s definitely enough story there that you could make another Thor film or an Avengers film that’s built around him *cough* DARK REIGN *cough*. However, any such film is not in development right now, and we definitely won’t see it in 2020.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Hulk turns up in another character’s film, but he won’t be getting his own film until his distribution rights return to Marvel (which are still at Universal). The best chance we have of seeing Hawkeye again is either in an Avengers 5 (which has not been confirmed) or Black Widow’s solo film. Speaking of which…
Black Widow
Fans have been clamoring for it for years, and now we finally have confirmation that Scarlet Johansson’s Black Widow will be getting her own movie. Cate Shortland has already been hired as director, and a first draft of the script has already been finished.
The film will supposedly be a prequel set long before Infinity War, so Marvel shouldn’t have much of a problem talking about it before Avengers 4 comes out. Considering so much work has been done on the film already, I would expect this to be slated for release in 2020.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
This had previously been confirmed for a 2020 release by director James Gunn, but since the unfortunate developments that led to his sacking, much of this film is up in the air right now. Guardians 3 was slated for release on May 1, 2020. But in order to make that deadline, they need to find a new director in the next four months before the project is scheduled to start shooting.
This hunt has likely been going on ever since Gunn was sacked, and we know Marvel will still use the director’s original script, so it should be a case of getting a director in time who can smoothly slot into the production. If they don’t, the film could get pushed back later in the year or as far back as 2021.
Doctor Strange 2
We’ve heard nothing official about a Doctor Strange sequel, but that’s likely due to the fact that he died in ‘the snap’ and Marvel want us to believe he isn’t coming back. But the fact is, Strange is a huge character and will likely be one of the main players in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for the next decade. We also know that Benedict Cumberbatch will be paid £7.5m (nearly $10m) to star in the sequel, and that that it’s reported to begin shooting in Spring 2019, the same time as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
It’s also been two years since his first film, so by then the sequel will be four years apart from the original, which sounds about right for a new release. Scott Derrickson is expected to return as director, so it sounds like everything is on track for a Doctor Strange sequel in 2020.
Black Panther 2
From here on out, it gets a bit tricky to predict Marvel sequels for 2020. It seems a bit too soon to get a Black Panther sequel as the film only came out earlier this year, but given the giant commercial success it received, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Marvel have tried to bring the production schedule forward.
Marvel will likely try to bring back Ryan Coogler to direct, though he is currently working on another project; a film called Wrong Answer with Michael B. Jordan already confirmed to star. However, the film is yet to receive a release date so perhaps Coogler could be persuaded to put the film on hold to return to Wakanda a second time.
Marvel does have a precedent here. Iron Man 2 was also released two years after the original (and the same will be said for Spider-Man: Homecoming once Far From Home arrives), but with all the properties they have at their disposal now, it does seem like this would be too quick a turn around for them. I’d expect a Black Panther sequel in 2021, if not 2022.
Ant-Man and The Wasp Sequel
Ant-Man and The Wasp isn’t even out on Blu-Ray yet, so it would seem very unlikely that Marvel would look to release this one any time soon. It seems pretty likely that we’ll get one at some point as both Ant-Man films have been positively received, but they do make the least money out of any of the Marvel films post-The Avengers.
Peyton Reed, who directed the previous two films, claimed on the Empire podcast that there are currently no plans for a third film, so it seems 2020 will be too soon for this particular film.
Captain Marvel 2
Captain Marvel will be one of the main faces of the MCU along with Black Panther and Spider-Man, so assuming that everything goes well with her first solo film and her appearance in Avengers 4, fans will likely be clamouring for a sequel.
Be that as it may, her first film doesn’t come out until March 8, 2019, so it seems highly unlikely that we’ll be getting a sequel only a year later. We probably won’t see a Captain Marvel sequel until 2022.
New Heroes
There are no more existing MCU characters with plans for their own solo movies, but we have been getting solid rumors that Marvel are developing movies based on Nova and The Eternals. These two films will begin to expand the cosmic side of the MCU past the Guardians of the Galaxy, but other than that we don’t know an awful lot about these films. Rumors broke about The Eternals first, so that film is likely further along in development than Nova, but not by much. No one has been cast or attached to direct either film, so I wouldn’t expect either of these films to come out until 2021 or 2022.
The most likely films to be released by Marvel in 2020 seem to be Doctor Strange 2, Black Widow, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. If the latter doesn’t find a director by January 2019, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Black Panther 2 get pushed forward, but at the moment Marvel is committing to its initial release date of 1 May 2020. Any other project seems far too soon to come out in the next two years, unless Marvel is hiding a few surprises for announcement after Avengers 4.
What do you think? Which Marvel films will be arriving in theatres in 2020? Let us know in the comments.
Josh is a huge a fan of Star Wars, superheroes and video games. He spends most of his time wondering who would win in a fight between Boba Fett and Star Lord.
